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Water levels at Nevada’s Lake Mead drop to new low

LAS VEGAS — Drought in the southwestern U.S will deplete the vast Lake Mead on the Colorado River this week to levels not seen since Hoover Dam was completed and the reservoir was filled in the 1930s, federal water managers said today.

The projected lake level of about 1,080 feet above sea level will be below the nearly 1,082 feet recorded in November 2010, and below the 1,083 feet measured in April 1956 during another sustained drought.

But U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regional chief Terry Fulp said water obligations will be met at least through next year without a key shortage declaration. The result will be full deliveries to cities, states, farms and Indian tribes in an area home to some 40 million people and the cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.